Thermalright ARO-M14G Ryzen AM4 CPU Air Cooler Review

Thermalright is known for low cost CPU air coolers that will get a job done. Its new ARO-M14G is a bit different in form factor than what we are used to seeing from the company, but it claims to have built this heatsink specifically for AMD's Ryzen socket AM4 CPUs. It even goes as far as to suggest it is suitable for fanless operation.

Today we are reviewing the ARO-M14G, an AM4-specific cooler for Ryzen and Ryzen 2 CPUs. Featuring an enlarged copper base to ensure full coverage of the Ryzen IHS, as well as "Proprietary through holes on fins for efficient ventilation." How will it stack up on our highly overvolted Ryzen test rig?

Test Methods

CPU

Our AMD Ryzen 1700 CPU will be running at 3.9GHz across all cores and will be being stressed by Prime95 using Small FFTs in both our CPU only test, as well as our combined testing. Our CPU Package power measures ~170 watts under full load.

GPU

In combined testing our GTX 670 will be running Furmark in addition to Prime95. This puts an additional 250 watts of heat into the system that the cooler will have to contend with.

Fans are set to a locked 60% speed during all testing, as we found that is the best balance between performance and noise.

Thermal Paste

Thermal compound being used is Promilatech PK-3 Nano Aluminum. This is a very viscous compound rated at 11.2 W/m and requires no burn in or setup time.

Temperatures

Ambient temperature will be kept at as consistent temperature as possible for the duration of the tests. Temperatures are being measured in 4 places during both tests using our Sperry DT-506 Quad Input Thermometer, case intake, cooler/radiator intake, cooler/radiator exhaust, and case exhaust.

Idle

Average idle temperatures will be recorded after a thirty minute period of system inactivity.

Load

Load temperatures are measured every 5 minutes from all four points with the Sperry DT-506 thermometer, as well as the CPU Temperature (Tdie) and Package Wattage as reported in HwiNFO 64. Both the CPU only as well as the combined tests are 1 hour long, at which point the average temperatures will be used as our data point.

Sound

Sound levels will be measured with a BAFX Products BAFX3370 Digital Sound Level Meter from a distance of four feet away from the side of the case. With everything turned off and the room completely "silent," the meter registered a sound level of 39dB(A).